Belmont, Calif. - Sezmi announced over the weekend that it is winding down operations and users will no longer have access to broadcast TV content, effective today, Sept. 26.

Sezmi, a hybrid Internet streaming and broadcast multichannel TV service designed to offer a robust and less-expensive alternative to cable services, said that to help ease the transition, Sezmi said, users will be able to continue to view programming stored on their Sezmi media recorders and rent any movies and shows available at no charge from Sezmi's On Demand catalog through Nov. 1.

In a letter on the company's website, Sezmi said it dropped the direct-to-consumer portion of its business as it changes "its business focus to providing our product and technology platform to service providers, internationally and in the U.S., who are interested in providing broadband video services to their customers."

Sezmi customers will no longer be billed for Sezmi service, and the programming guide and recording function on the media recorder will be deactivated on Sept. 26.

Movies and shows already saved to the recorder and YouTube access will not be affected.

"Thank you for having allowed us to serve you," stated Sezmi's letter to its customers. "We sincerely appreciate the enthusiasm and loyalty our customers have shown. Sezmi was launched to provide customers a new video entertainment choice that provides a premium video experience at a more affordable price. With our new company focus, we will continue to develop our video solutions and provide them to service providers who will be in a better position to offer the service to much broader customer base."